SCC 289/23
Type
Case
Court
Saudi Arabia Court of Cassation
Jurisdiction
Saudi Arabia
Taxonomy
General Environmental Law, General Personal Injury
Copyright
LexisNexis
Decision date
25 Nov 2001
Catchwords
Personal Injury – Liability of the Property Owner – Death – Compensation – Warning Smell – Environmental damage
This case involved a claim for compensation by the heirs of a man who had died after working in a lake with a bad smell. It was claimed the defendant who owned the lake had ordered him to clear it. The property owner denied this. Compensation was rejected as the lake had had a bad smell and that should have warned the deceased not to go near it.
Background
Heirs of a deceased man filed a case at Riyadh General Court against a defendant claiming they had ordered the deceased man to clean a lake used to cultivate the fish and there had been a bad smell originating from the lake. As a result, the man had gone into a coma and died. The heirs stated the lake was owned by the defendant and he had not warned the deceased man about the smell. They requested the court order the defendant to pay 100,000 Riyals.
The defendant admitted that he owned the lake and it had a bad smell. However, he stated he had not ordered the deceased man to clean the lake and was at his house when the accident occurred.